The women’s lacrosse fell to the #25 ranked Fairfield Stags in the battle of the Morris sisters, 16-5.
Freshman goalie Megan Morris faced 26 shots, saving 10 of them. Graduate attacker Kerri Gutenberger scored two goals in the defeat.
“I think it’s really like you just got to stand up and do it for your team like we’re a family out there, said Megan Morris. “26 shots is an effort for my defense; getting me good angles. I’ll take what I can get and I just need to do my part for the team.”
Graduate goalie Claire Morris–Megan Morris’ sister–had a shutdown performance, having faced 10 shots and saving five. Graduate attackers Libby Rowe and Elizabeth Talluto put up hat trick performances in the match.
During a midafternoon downpour, Marist (3-8, 2-2 MAAC Conference) lost to the first-placed and nationally ranked Stags (10-1, 4-0 MAAC Conference) amid a battle of sisters.
Megan Morris was pelted in between the pipes to start the first quarter. Two saves out of four shots faced put the Stags on top 2-0 within the first three and a half minutes.
Claire Morris established herself early on as a dominant force. A free-position attempt for graduate attacker Kerri Gutenberger and a wrap-around shot by graduate attacker Kelly Trotta were snuffed out to keep Fairfield in front.
The Red Foxes fell into an early four-goal deficit heading into the second quarter. The defense allowed 11 shots, nine of which were on goal; the offense could only produce three total shots as the Stags controlled the time of possession.
Graduate attacker Olivia Arntsen got Marist on the board with 9:37 left in the first half. A sweeping stick save by Megan Morris catapulted the Red Fox offense down the field to get the score.
Fairfield responded with two scores of their own; graduate attackers Elizabeth Talluto and Libby Rowe each tallied hat tricks to extend the lead.
Gutenberger broke the Stag run with just under four minutes to play in the second; the blazing free-position shot put her in the scorecard.
With 1:09 left, Fairfield forced a turnover on the Red Foxes’ clear. Senior attacker Sarah Bucher shot-faked Megan Morris and fired a point-blank rocket. Megan Morris did not bite and iced the fastbreak attempt.
The Stags took a 7-2 lead into the break behind Claire Morris and the defense’s play. Morris only faced six shots, saving four of them; her sister was on the other side of the coin. Having faced 14 shots, seven of which she shut down, the Red Foxes looked to back their goalie’s efforts up in the second half.
“I was really excited to play her. I never thought I would play the game against her,” said Megan Morris. “She’s the whole reason I played lacrosse and I played goalie so it was great to just like step out there and be able to compete with her.”
That was the case to start the third frame; freshman attacker Greta Govoni caught a perfect stick-side pass from junior midfielder Chloe Birckhead and buried it.
Gutenberger followed that off with an underhand roller around the legs of Claire Morris to shrink Fairfield’s lead 7-4.
Marist remained on the attack, pushing the Stags into a corner as they looked to swing momentum–only to be pushed back.
Eight turnovers–and a 4-0 run by Fairfield–put Marist in the largest deficit of the contest heading into the fourth quarter. The Red Foxes had glimpses of a comeback during the third, getting as close as three scores, but could not get over the hump.
“I think we need to step up in terms of confidence and continuing our effort because it was a hard-fought game,” said junior defender Sophia Georgopolous. “But we just need to carry it through all four quarters.”
The Stags remained in the driver’s seat for the remainder of the game. Three straight goals for Fairfield shut the door for good.
Although they made it interesting in the third, Fairfield shut down the Marist attack down the stretch. Turnovers were abundant in the second half, which the Stags used to their advantage.
I think that’s part of them growing as a unit,” said head coach Keith Detelj. “I don’t think that was the case come last year, and they’re still learning how to be that type of team. I think it’s something that they look back on and hopefully they find that courage to say, ‘Hey, we’re in this and we need to finish this out.”
The Red Foxes look ahead to their next conference game on Saturday, Apr. 6. Taking on the fourth-place Niagara Purple Eagles, game time is slated for 1 p.m.
Edited by Jaylen Rizzo
Photo from Fairfield Athletics
Graphic by Jaylen Rizzo
For more coverage of Marist athletics, follow @cfmarist on Instagram, X and TikTok, and sign up to receive daily alerts
